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Monday, April 21, 2014

"R" is for Reaching Out: A-Z Challenge

Years ago, I watched a commercial that made me feel like a
jerk.Yes, I’m easily influenced by
sappy television commercials.They
sucker me in all the time. Don’t judge.

It was a commercial for Wounded Warriors.(They assist military vets returning from
conflicts overseas.)It’s no secret my
husband is a retired vet so
these commercials hit home.

I donated to Wounded Warriors every few months and felt all
gushy inside knowing I’d done some small part.But, really, I felt like a jerk for not doing something more. Then it
hit me.I could reach out to someone in
need with a personal gesture.

They sent thank you cards with the receipt of a donation but
I never took time to fill one out.This
time, I did.I reached out and
personally said “thank you” to a vet.Now with each receipt, I send out the card.

Bing!

This made me realize I could do the same thing for others in
my situation.Rather than be a bump on a
log at my S-Anon meetings, scared what others thought about what I shared, I
opened my mouth and spoke.Those words
led to nods of understanding from those around me.

In turn, it helped me pick up the phone to see how people
were coping.Those phone calls helped me
too.It made me understand I wasn’t in
this crazy disease of sex addiction.

The calls allowed me to live outside my own needs.Reaching out helped my recovery process.It became a circle of giving and receiving,
leaning on someone other than myself.

47 comments:

You found the secret - when you focus on others, your own problems diminish.When we give of ourselves, we find peace. We do something of value for others. That's why Jesus said the greatest among you will be the greatest servant.

I think it's important to remember it's not all about me. It can be hard to remember sometimes when things are rough. Or even when things are going well in this age of instant gratification and selfles. EGO = Easing God Out and He wants us to help others.

The main time I reach out to people is when I know they need help, but they won't admit it. Outside of that I'm not much of a reacher outer. That just seems a little surprising to me. I'm glad it really worked out for you though.

nice....while we work internally we should always be reaching...or we end up on an island...this is cool...and touching the lives of those around us...a little personal thank you....it goes a long way...

I try to whenever I find out someone's in crisis or whatever. But I rarely reach out to people....I try to suck it up and soldier on alone. I mean I might need to talk out a problem and I do reach out for some hand holding, but other than that I'm like, 'oh no thanks I'm fine, it's covered...'

I think it helps keep things in perspective when we reach out to others. Things in our lives don't seem quite so difficult when we help others. You're right, just a phone call can make a world of difference to someone.

We reach out to people through the blog. It's actually a pretty great medium to help others... which is still weird to me, since we both portray ourselves as drunk, goofy underachievers who swear too much and hate everything.

It's always cool to learn just how much you two do through your blog. I was guilty of thinking you guys were just these drunken goofballs but then I got to really know you and found out just how wrong I was…you don't drink *every* day. haha

What? We have to help others? Pfffft the cat doesn't have time for that. Others can scoop his poop and do everything else, but him help? never lol

Helping can give you a sense of peace in a way indeed. I do when I think I can. But best advice ever, never take advice from someone who hasn't been through what you've been through. So I keep my ten cents to myself many a time.

Now, to answer your question, YES, I do... that may be a great fault of mine. I teach at a small university and I DO reach out to students that need help... many times, it's nothing more than just listening to their problems, but sometimes, I have answers for them...

I help them with resumes... letters of introduction... I help them with interview concerns...

I think that regardless of our age, we all need help sometime... we all need someone to listen... that is willing to listen..